Crumb sweeper



Oct. 12, 1954 w. VAN GUILDER CRUMB SWEEPER Filed April 7, 1950 WALTER'VAN GUILDE R B) breaker Patented Oct. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CRUMB SWEEPER Walter Van Guilder, River Forest, 111., assignor toGeneral Mills, Inc., a-corporation of Delaware Application April 7,1950, Serial No. 154,463

4 Claims. 1

The present application relates to crumb sweepers for household use, andmore particularly to an improved crumb sweeper having selfcontainedpower means.

Various devices have been proposed in the past for removal of crumbsfrom a tablecloth or other surface. Some of these devices have been inthe nature of mere scrapers, which are adapted to scrape or brush thecrumbs toward the edge of the surface for collection in a napkin orcontainer. Other devices have been of the carpet sweeper type in which acrumb brush is rotated in response to movement of the device across thesurface.

The present invention relates to crumb sweepers of the movable brushtype and it is one object of the invention to provide an improvedcombination and arrangement or parts in such a crumb sweeper.

Another object is the provision of self-contained power means for acrumb sweeper of th movable brush type.

Still another object is the provision of a crumb sweeper havingself-contained power means in combination with means for setting andreleas ing the power means for controlled rotation of the brush.

Another object is the provision of a relatively simple combination inwhich the brush is readily removable for cleaning.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingspecification, in which a. preferred embodiment of the invention isdescribed.

In the drawings forming a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a crumb sweeper according to theinvention, with certain portions broken away and other portions shown insection for clearness.

Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view, with cer tain portions brokenaway, showing details of the handle construction and the power means ofthe device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line I-4 of Fig. 1.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the crumb sweeper according to thepresent invention includes a crumb-receiving body designated generallyat I0. This body portion includes spaced end Walls I2 and I4 betweenwhich a main outer wall It extends. Wall I6 serves as a front, top, andrear wall for the device and extends from a beaded forward edge I8spaced somewhat above the bottom of the device to a bottom rear cornerinclined partition member 22 extending horizontally from end wall I2 toend wall I4. Partition member 22 may be secured to the end walls in anydesired fashion. As shown in the draw-' ings, partition 22 has asubstantially horizontal edge 24 extending from end to end and servingas a stop for the movable bottom 34 described below.

At one end of partition 22, a flange 26 is riveted at 28 to the end wallI2. At the other end of partition 22 a similar flange 30 is riveted at3.2 to the end wall I4 of the crumb-receiving body.

This body portion is provided with a bottom plate 34 which extends fromthe rear corner 20 outwardly past the edge 24 of horizontal partition 22to provide a crumb-receiving receptacle portion or chamber 35 betweenthe lower rear portion of wall I6, the partition 22, and bottom 34. Thischamber 35 is designed for receipt of the crumbs to be collected and isprovided with a movable door through which the collected crumbs may bereadily removed.

For convneience, in this particular embodiment of the invention, thebottom plate 34 also serves as the movable door and is pivoted on ashaft 36 extending from end to end of the device at the lower rearcorner thereof. A spring 38 has one end 40 engaging the bottom plate ordoor 34 and urging. it upwardly against the edge 24 of partition 22. Theother end of spring 38 is secured at 42 to the rear lower portion ofwall 18-.

The forward edge 44 of bottom plate 34 is designed to serve as a.scraper edge for engagement with the surface of the material to becleaned, as shown in Fig. 3.

Cooperating with this scraping edge 44 is a rotatable brush indicatedgenerally at 46. This brush includes a main shaft portion 48 andradially projecting bristles 50. One end of the shaft or body portion 48is provided with an extension 52 of reduced diameter. An annularshoulder 53 is thus formed at the point where this extension 52 projectsfrom the brush shaft 48. The projecting end 52' of the brush isremovably mounted in a slot between the forked ends 54 of a bearingbracket 56. Bearing bracket 56 is located near end wall I2 of the deviceand includes a flange 58 riveted at B0 to the top of body portion I6.

In order to retain the bearing extension of the brush in positionbetween the bifurcated ends 54 of bearing member 58, a resilientretaining member 62 is provided. This retaining member or spring 62 hasa horizontal portion 64 designed to engage just below the bearingextension 52 when the brush is in the heavy line position of Fig. l.Retaining spring 62 is also provided with a tapered end 66 which servesboth as a finger piece to release the bearing extension 52 and permitits downward removal from bearing bracket 58, and also as a convenientcam for retraction of the horizontal portion 64 of spring 62 as thebearing extension 52 is reinserted into the bracket 55. This retainingspring 62 also has a projecting flange 58 secured to the top of wallportion It by the same rivets BI} which hold the flange 58 of bearingmember 55- in position.

At its other end, the brush 46 is provided with a rectangular bearingextension Iii designed for removable driven engagement with a taperedrectangular slot I2 in the end portion 74 of a suitable power shaft IE.The provision of the axially tapered slot I2, the inner or smaller endof which has the same cross section as the end of the rectangularbearing extensions l6 on brush it, facilitates insertion and removal ofthe brush it and at the same time provides a positive driving engagementbetween the shaft '56 and brush 46 when the brush is in the heavy lineposition of Fig. 1.

In the preferred form of the invention shown in the drawings, the powershaft I6 is located within a handle portion 18 which extends or projectsoutwardly from the end wall It of the crumb sweeper along the axis ofrotation of the brush 46. In the particular form shown, the axis ofrotation of brush #35 is inclined upwardly in order that the handleportion I8 will have greater clearance above the top of the surface tobe cleaned. Because of this upward inclination of the axis of the brush,a conical brush is employed, and the crumb-receiving body portion In ofthe device is correspondingly tapered from the narrow or lower end I2 tothe broader or upper end l4.

Handle portion ie has a projecting flange 89 at its inner end spacedoutwardly from end wall It and substantially parallel thereto to providea chamber for the latch and latch release mechanism to be described.This radial flange 80 of the handle portion has an inwardly directed oraxial cylindrical rim 82 terminating in an outwardly directed flange 8riveted to the end wall Id at 86. The outer end of handle it has aninwardly directed flange or end wall 88 serving as a bearing for one endof the power shaft '15, the other end of power shaft 16 being journalledin end wall I4. A winding knob 9B is connected to the outer end of powershaft IE and provides a convenient means for tensioning the power spring82 which is mounted concentrically on power shaft E6. The outer end ofpower spring $2 is fastened to a hub or bearing portion 9% of the shaftI6 at 96 in order that this end of spring 92 will always move with theshaft 16. The other or inner end of power spring 92 is secured at 98 tothe flange 8B of the handle portion. Thus rotation of the winding knobSi and shaft IS in the direction of the winding arrow shown in Fig. 2will rotate the outer end 95 of the power spring 92 while the inner end98 remains fixed in position. This winding movement will accordinglytension the power spring.

In order to retain the power shaft 16 and spring 92 in tensicnedposition, the power shaft is provided with a ratchet Illil engaged bythe hook IE2 of a latch or pawl member I94 pivoted at N36 to 4 theflange 80. A spring I08 normally urges the pawl I04 in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig. 2 in order to latch the ratchet I00, powershaft l6, and power spring 92 in position.

In order to release the power means to obtain the desired rotation ofbrush 46, a release lever I II) is pivoted at I I2 to flange 8B andincludes an end II I engaged beneath a lateral projection IIB on latchmember I04. The other end of lever I I0 is bifurcated as shown at H8 andis secured by a I pin I28 to a release plunger I22. Release plunger I22has a portion of reduced diameter I24 projecting upwardly through theannular rim 82 of the handle portion and carries a button or fingerpiece I26 at its upper end for convenient manipulation by the thumb orfinger of the operator. The shoulder I28 between the portion I24 ofreduced diameter and the main body portion I22 of the plunger serves asa stop to limit upward movement of the release plunger.

' When the release button or member I25 is depressed by the user, thelatch member IM will be rotated against the tension of spring I 08 torelease the ratchet wheel Iiiii and permit rotation of the power shaft76 and brush 46.

The operation of the crumb sweeper described above is extremely simpleand convenient. The self-contained spring power means of the crumbsweeper can be readily wound in advance of the desired operation byrotation of knob 90. The device can then be moved across the surface tobe cleaned in the direction indicated by the arrow I38 in Fig. 3 whilethe release member I26 is depressed to cause rotation of the brush andcollection of the crumbs in the chamber 35 of the body portion. Thedevice is particularly useful in removal of crumbs from the narrow areasbetween plates and other table utensils since the selfcontained powermechanism permits rotation of the brush even though the crumb sweeper asa whole is held stationary with respect to the surface to be cleaned.Thus the relatively long narrow brush can be placed between obstaclesand the brush can be rotated to remove crumbs from the area without thenecessity of removal of such obstacles from the surface.

The particular arrangement and location of the parts, and particularlythe location of a spring power means in the handle portion, permits theuse of a relatively long-running spring and provides a compact andconvenient structure.

Since minor variations and changes in the exact details of constructionwill be apparent to persons skilled in this field, it is intended thatthis invention shall cover all such changes and modifications as fallwithin the spirit and scope of the attached claims.

Now, therefore, I claim:

1. A crumb sweeper comprising a relatively long narrow crumb receivingbody provided with a flat scraping edge for engagement with a surface tobe cleaned, a relatively long narrow rotary brush mounted in the bodyfor rotation on a predetermined axis, the brush having an outer edgeparallel to said scraping edge and adjacent thereto, a handle on saidbody projecting from one end thereof along said predetermined axis, andspring power means in said handle operatively connected to the brush,said spring power means including a rotatable shaft extending along saidaxis within the handle, the shaft having inner and outer ends with theinner end directly engaging and,

driving the brush, a winding knob at the outer end of the handle rigidlyconnected to the shaft to rotate the shaft and be rotated thereby, aspring coiled around said shaft within the handle and having one endsecured to the shaft and the other end secured to a stationary part ofthe sweeper, ratchet means on the shaft, a pawl cooperating with theratchet means to lock the shaft against ,reverse rotation when the knoband shaft are rotated to wind the spring, and manually operable meansfor releasing said pawl.

2. A crumb sweeper comprising a relatively long narrow crumb receivingbody provided with a fiat scraping edge for engagement with a surface tobe cleaned, a relatively long narrow conical rotary brush mounted in thebody for rotation on an upwardly inclined axis, with the brush having anouter edge parallel to said scraping edge and adjacent thereto, a handleon said body projecting at an upward inclination from one end thereofalong said upwardly inclined axis, and spring-power means mounted andconcealed Within said handle and operatively connected to the brush.

3. A crumb sweeper comprising a crumb receiving body, a brush rotatablymounted with respect to the body and adapted to throw crumbs thereinfrom a surface to be cleaned, self-contained spring power means forrotation of the brush independently of movement of the sweeper acrosssaid surface, winding means for the spring power means, and manuallyreleasable latch means normally locking the power means and brushagainst rotation, said brush being readily and separately removable fromthe body for cleaning and having a bearing portion at one end and afirst cooperating shaft coupling portion at the other end, the powermeans having a driving shaft with a second cooperating shaft couplingportion engaging said first coupling portion, and said body having abearing support movable between retaining and releasing positions withrespect to said brush bearing portion, the shaft coupling portions beingreadily disengaged upon movement of said bearing support to releasingposition for removal of the brush.

4. A crumb sweeper comprising a relatively long narrow crumb receivingbody provided with a fiat scraping edge for engagement with a surface tobe cleaned, a relatively long narrow rotary brush mounted in the bodyfor rotation on a predetermined axis, with the brush having an outeredge parallel to said scraping edge and adjacent thereto, a handle onsaid body projecting from one end thereof along said pre-determinedaxis, and spring power means in said handle operatively connected to thebrush, said brush having one end removably mounted in the body and itsother end supported in detachable driven engagement with a portion ofsaid spring power means, and the body having a retaining member movablebetween retaining and releasing positions with respect to said oneremovably mounted brush end.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 500,415 Neal June 27, 1893 864,125 Ellis Aug. 20, 1907 931,143Phillips Aug. 17, 1909 1,105,048 Townsend July 28, 1914 1,561,062Douglas Nov. 10, 1925 1,612,529 Nurenberg Dec. 28, 1926 1,650,507Gladwel1 Nov. 22, 192'? 2,189,408 Seifried Feb. 6, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 24,151 Great Britain of 1908 55,719 Switzerland Jan.23, 1912

